Robinsons Retail has reported a 25-per-cent profit drop to US$75.2 million (PHP3.83 billion) last year and $18.8 million in the fourth quarter.
However, net sales rose 22.8 percent to $3.2 billion for the full year driven by same-store sales growth of 3.4 percent. It was the first full year including the consolidation of Rustan Supercenters.
The company blamed the profit decline on the effect of the new accounting standard PFRS16 which resulted in a net impact of $6.2 million in the fourth quarter and $19.6 million for the full year.
Core net income excluding the PFRS16 adjustment rose by 9.5 percent to $31.4 million in the fourth quarter and 2.1 percent to $100.3 million for the full year.
Net income post-PFRS16 was $78.7 million.
“We have bolstered our strategic focus on data and digitalization, with our investments in Data Analytics Ventures Inc and e-commerce platforms BeautyMNL and Growsari, Inc,” said RRHI president Robina Y Gokongwei-Pe.
“We remain optimistic because we approach technology as a means for our brands, loyalty programs, and marketing campaigns to become even more customer-centric and engaging in this new digital market.”
Meanwhile, net sales for the fourth quarter went up by 14.4 percent to $921 million, primarily driven by the company’s drugstore network, up 7.4 percent, convenience stores up 5 percent, department stores up 4.7 percent and supermarkets at 4 percent.